Lwandamina unfazed by venue change

Zambia coach George Lwandamina is unfazed to hear that Sudan have moved Wednesday’s 2018 World Cup away qualifier 400 kilometers outside Khartoum.

The November 11 second round, first leg qualifier will now be played in the Sudan Northern regional town of Karima that has reportedly no direct access to international flights.

Zambia are expected to arrive in Karima via Khartoum on the eve of the game after the home and foreign-based team assembled in Lusaka late on Sunday.

Lwandamina said all this was routine pre-match mind games by Sudan.

“We are prepared for them, even if they take the game that far, we will play,” Lwandamina said.

“They are trying to play mind games but we are ready for them.

“We have good players and our professional players are matured enough to handle any situation.”

Meanwhile, the two teams will have very little time to recuperate with the final leg this week that will be played four days later on November 15 at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola that has direct international connections from the two main East African hubs of Addis Ababa and Nairobi.

Winner over both legs will advance to the final group qualifying phase to battle for one of the African berths in Russia.